Some of the best players in the world were missing in the tournament, some either declined invitation, such as Dominik Hašek stating "I would love to play in (the competition), but the timing is bad",[1] or because of injuries, as Pavel Bure was injured during a Russia–USA exhibition game in Detroit.

In the biggest game of the North American Group, the USA defeated Canada 5–3 to finish first and get a bye to the semi-finals.

In the semis, they defeated Russia 5–2, while Canada beat Sweden 3–2 on Theoren Fleury's goal at 19:47 of the second overtime period, ending the longest game in international hockey history.

The tournament did see some controversy after the Canada–Russia game in Vancouver was played when Sweden's coach Kent Forsberg said he believed "Canada cheated its way to victory" through help of Canadian NHL referees that saw two goals disallowed and several controversial penalties for Russia.

[2][3] The Russian team's coach Boris Mikhailov echoed a similar sentiment after the game saying "It was the referees' victory", as Russia felt there was "biased officiating".